Iraq’s Qaeda asks ex-fighters to return, threatens attacks

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Al Qaeda’s Iraqi affiliate has asked Sunni militia members who turned against the insurgency and joined forces with the U.S. military and the Shi’ite-led government to return to its ranks, threatening to attack those who do not “repent”. In an hour-long audio speech, the spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, said the group was growing stronger “despite all the difficulties and challenges” and was still training and sheltering foreign fighters, the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said late on Monday. “As for you, satanic Awakenings, we strive to guide you more than you strive to kill us. If you come to us in repentance, we will accept your repentance even if you killed a million people,” Adnani said, according to SITE. “Do not stand in the way between us and the (Shi’ites) … We will not get bored or tired; rather, we will continue until the Day of Judgment, and we will kill from amongst you only those who we see will never return.”